Hurricane Ike Relief Trip

On October 3-5 I (Brady) joined up with some other Lutherans from the DFW area and took a trip down to the Houston / Beaumont area to help with needs caused by Hurricane Ike.

On Friday, I arrived with the crew in Conroe and helped hand out FEMA food and supplies to over 900 needy people in the Conroe area. Later that day our crew went out to Houston and the surrounding area doing work orders for needy people in the area... clearing debris, repairing damage to houses, and chainsawing & removing large trees that had fallen in the area.

Saturday and Sunday our crew went to Beaumont. Stationed out of St. John's Lutheran (which had donated supplies, food, and bunks) we did work in the Bridge City area, mostly for an older couple named Russell and Faye Betts. Like many people in Bridge City, they received a storm surge that entered their homes and wiped out many of their personal possessions. The homes that remained had to be stripped down to their frames because of mold and rot. Once that is completed, the frames are sprayed with an anti-fungal mixture that prevents mold and bacteria from spreading; then new sheetrock can be put up and the home rebuilt.

It was a privilege to help out their family during this difficult time... and very hard to help them as they realized most of their earthly possessions had been destroyed by the water. And yet, in all this, their true hope and their real treasure remained intact... and untouched by the flood. We sang about this in their garage, on Faye's piano with keys already beginning to stick and freeze up because of the mold and wood warp. And together we raised our voices,

"When peace like a river attendeth my way,

when storm clouds like sea-billows roll.

Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say,

it is well, it is well with my soul."